Counterclockwise
by winterspyre
Summary: Uchiha Sasuke has failed. Failed his comrades, failed his teachers—and most of all, failed his brother. Sasuke would never protect Konoha, not after the things they've done. In a desperate attempt to change things, he made a deal with the devil. A deal to make things right. A chance to go back in time. What if Sasuke had a little more revenge and hate in him?


Once upon a time, there was a handsome young boy with beautiful onyx eyes who had a nice elder brother with long silky hair. They lived with their proud wise father and a beautiful calm mother in a ravishing big house.

Days had shining suns and there never was rain—oh no, *never* and nights were peaceful with big full moons. In the ravishing big house, nothing could go wrong—oh no, *nothing*.

…Until it did.

The handsome young boy with beautiful onyx eyes came home and his proud wise father and beautiful calm mother lay on the floor of their ravishing big house—with CRIMSONredBLOODspilledEVERYWHERE and the handsome young boy with beautiful onyx eyes SCREAMED and SCREAMED until he could scream no more.

The handsome young boy with beautiful onyx eyes saw his nice elder brother and latched on to him for dear life—oh, dear *dear* life. CRIMSONredBLOODisEVERYWHERE

 _Who was here?_ the handsome young boy with beautiful onyx eyes asked his beautiful onyx eyes glimmers with RAGEandPAINandDISTRESSandBLOODLUST for the man responsible for this.

 _Oh, foolish little brother. It was me—it was ME all along!_ the traitorous insane brother of the handsome young boy with beautiful onyx eyes replied, laughing and laughing and laughing because it was ENTERTAINMENT.

It was ENTERTAINMENT to watch the handsome young boy with bloodthirsty onyx eyes suffer and suffer and suffer until he could suffer no more.

 _No, it couldn't be! You are not the brother I know!_ the suffering young boy with distressed onyx eyes replied to his traitorous insane brother, _please tell me this is just a dream!—…_

The suffering young boy with distressed onyx eyes wakes up with tears in his once hopeful beautiful eyes to a white ceiling. So BLINDINGLY white. Surely his brother could not have done such a thing—he was so nice, so achingly nice that it couldn't have been true!

Yes, it must have been a dream but whatisdreamandreality and WHYwasheHERE and he felt… sad. Extremely sad. So sad that his heart felt like it is tearing in half and tearing in half and tearinginHALF again and again.

He trusted his traitorous insane brother, loved him and cherished him because he thought he was the best brother he never had.

Smirk.

Smile.

Chuckle.

Laughter.

Full-blown magical laughter echoed through the hospital room.

The laughter stops. Revenge, that was his life goal—and he will achieve it… But he would find out—eight years too late, that it was such a meaningless and depressing goal.

Eight years too late, indeed. Uchiha Sasuke stands, on the verge of tears. He was always on the verge of tears.

Because everyone in his life, everyone worthwhile that could help him, had always wanted him for something. Whether it be his eyes, his bloodline, or his power. They always wanted something.

He was just a marionette in the hands of master puppeteers. A doll in the hands of a seven-year old girl. Constantly using him and telling him that he wasn't good enough.

The war was won against Madara. But that doesn't make Sasuke an inch closer to happiness as he originally was. In fact, he was a mile further. He had never wanted to serve under Konoha like some puppet, he had never wanted to make friends because they would always use him in the end.

Because if he hadn't wanted to kill his brother, if he hadn't wanted revenge that badly, Orochimaru wouldn't have died and Kabuto wouldn't have gained his cells—and Madara wouldn't even have had a chance. Sure, everyone was panting right beside him, all of his former comrades and what he called friends. Naruto had a bright grin on his face, and Sakura had a peaceful, serene smile. Sasuke wanted to lash out at them for being so happy (so FOOLISHLY happy, damn it).

And of course, Sasuke was smirking too. But not on the inside. On the inside, in the deepest and darkest and most true part of him, he wanted the Juubi to break out of Madara's control, he wanted it to break free and wreck havoc on Konoha and the world, because it was filled with too many shades of gray for his world of black and white.

He didn't know what to do anymore.

* * *

Later that night, instead of attending the fool's party Naruto had thrown for the heroes of the war, Sasuke simply rested in the midst of war-grounds. No one was here, perfect for him to rest. Rest, that is, until a feminine voice whispered into his ears.

"Little one, do you truly wish to change things so badly?" It murmured, causing Sasuke to uncaringly turn back and activate his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan on his right eye, Rinnegan burning brightly in the other. He was too haggard to deal with strangers giving him sympathy.

But just as he turned his head towards the voice, he was met with an eerie silence.

His posture immediately switched from a tired, relaxed seating to a tense slouch, ready for action.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?"

"I am the spirit of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, sealed and reverted forever into the body of a ten-tailed beast. I merely want to help you accomplish your quest. It seemed as if you were not happy with the way things turned out."

This time, Sasuke noticed the echo of the demonic statue while the voice was speaking.

"Of course I wasn't happened with the way things turned out, I don't want Itachi nii-san to die." He spoke cautiously, biting words behind—what if this so-called spirit of Ōtsutsuki was actually a spy from the Leaf?

"Why don't we reach an agreement? I possess the ability to turn back the clock, which will not be of any use to be unless there is a contractor that frees me in the past."

"What are you saying?" He questions. "I'm saying, that if we reach an equilibrium: you give me the chance to see the world again, and I'll turn back the clock for you."

"Why do you so desperately wish to 'see the world again'?" Sasuke asked again, skeptical.

"I am the mother who wishes to see what her child has blossomed into, I want to see what the world has become in these past eons without my supervision." Ōtsutsuki breathed, with a hint of longing in her voice.

"How am I to know if you won't rampage?" This offer was simply too good to be true.

"Did the Kyuubi rampage when Naruto was in a perfectly calm state of mind? You will merely be a jinchuuriki, a holder for the bijuu. I will exist when you travel back in time as I will be no longer a physical body, but rather a large body of chakra and sentience."

Sasuke wanted to decline the offer—after all, why would he trust a complete stranger whom he had just defeated earlier in the day? But the more he thought about it, the more he was inclined to accept this deal with the devil. What was there to lose, anyway?

"Fine."

The last thing he felt was a gust of wind sweeping him off his feet and knocking him into the sweet state of dreamland.

Four years in the past, twin starbursts opened, glowing red into the otherwise dark room.


End file.
